Healthcare.gov signups in Oct. may miss White House's target

According to a Sep. 5 memo obtained by the Associated Press, the White House projected a slow start for Obamacare enrollment, estimating that 494,620 people would sign up for health insurance under the program by Oct. 31. That number could be lower, given the problems with the federally-run online marketplace Healthcare.gov. 

"If the glitches persist and frustrated consumers give up trying, that initial goal, described as modest in the memo, could slip out of reach," reported the AP. 

"The Sept. 5 memo, for Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, lists monthly enrollment targets for each state and Washington, D.C., through March 31, the last day of the initial open enrollment period under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

"'We expect enrollment in the initial months to be low," said the memo titled "Projected Monthly Enrollment Targets for Health Insurance Marketplaces in 2014.'

"A big jump was expected after Thanksgiving, since Dec. 15 is the last day people can sign up so their coverage will take effect Jan. 1. Starting in the new year, the health care law requires virtually all Americans to have insurance or face fines. At the same time, insurance companies will be forbidden from turning away people in poor health.

The memo projected enrollment would reach 3.3 million nationally by Dec. 31.

By the end of March, total enrollment through the markets was expected to surpass 7 million." Read the story.  

Comments

[linda]

ha ha ha....these people are dreaming. They should have taken the repub up on the year delay. Even a delay of the roll out won't hide the sticker shock.

[jbwillikers]

What a shocker out of the blue! Who could have possibly foreseen the problems? It is, after all, a government program.

[EA]

The majority will be signed up using pen and paper and will thereby be missing out on the key young and healthy that this scheme needs in order to pay for the old and sick.

I guess you can only do so much with a 600 million dollar website. Who knew?

[lester]

Each American consumes on average about $8000 in healthcare services each year. If some pay less or nothing others are going to have to pay more. How many people have $8000 for healthcare? And there simply not enough rich people to make up the difference.

ObamaCare just makes it worse.

There are free market solutions but I am not holding my breath.

[Bobo from Texas]

Don't worry Hope&Change! will fix everything.

Forward!

[Jimmy Crack Corn]

unexpectedly........

[Mkelley]

This is a wonderful opportunity for young people to see first hand how spectacularly incompetent big government is. Bravo, Obama, Nancy, and Harry.

[richard40]

The day before the shutdown the repubs had compromised, completely withdrawing their demand for defunding, and offered obama a 1 yr delay in exchange for ending the shutdown, which considering the crummy state of the completely unready website would have been eminently sensible. Instead obama rejected that compromise offer, and put us in weeks of shutdown, so we could see this mess of an unready website. So some of you lefties and MSM people out there, please tell me again why the entire shutdown is supposed to be the repubs and tea parties fault???